Reset search
My Gap Year
  • Shane Hutchinson
  • Shane Hutchinson

My Gap Year

A 85-day adventure by Shane Read more
FollowInsightsInsightsCalendarCalendarPhotosPhotosShareShareBucket list
Newest first
  • Trip start
    December 4, 2016
    Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 1

    December 4, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Finally we (Shona and I) hit the road a day and a half late but we are off and plan to stay at Metung for the night. On the highway we have a car come up beside us and get our attention, something is wrong so I pull over and have a look and find the weld on the bike rack has broken and the bikes are 90 degrees to where they should be. The only thing that is stopping them from hitting the ground is the combination lock for the bikes. We eventually make it to Metung and stay the night. It is raining and I got badly bitten by mozzies.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 2

    December 5, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Spent the morning having a look around Metung and then in the afternoon went to meet Merv and Joan from Ozclubbies, lovely people, turns out Merv also went to Exford Primary School a few years before me, he left the area before I moved there though. He gave us a tour of his shed, very envious of the toys he has. Then off to a caravan park at Lake Tyers for the night.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 3

    December 6, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Headed to Marlo and set up camp next to the river, nice spot but was difficult to get down the bank to have a fish so I tried to fish of a large branch all I managed to do was get caught in the trees so we went into Marlo ans fished off the beach.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 4

    December 7, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Mallacoota caravan park is where we stayed it os a beautiful spot wish we had more time here to explore. Put the boat in the water for the first time and found out the engine won't run properly, feeling quite annoyed and ripped off, sure it is something simple though.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 5

    December 8, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Arrived at Tathra its a beautiful place got to see 3 large stingrays swimming and see the beach covered with blue bottles. The caravan park had lots of kangaroos and also managed to have a run in with a possum.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 6

    December 9, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Breakfast at the old wharf in Tarthra a great way to start the day. Drive up the coast towards Batemans bay it is beautiful coast all the way. Stayed the night at Waldrens Swamp camping area.

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 8

    December 11, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Lazy day today went for a drive to Googong Dam went for an icecream then back to the caravan park to do some washing and relax.

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 9

    December 12, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Last day today with Shona, I dropped her at the airport after spending the day at the War Memorial. What an amazing place, such an emotional place.

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 10

    December 13, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Started the day just out of Cooma made my coffee and toast, sounds like a simple thing but it was a relief that the solar panels, batteries and inverter are now sorted for the amount of power i need. I headed into Cooma and had a look around, its a nice town but quite busy and I needed to get going as I had to get over the Snowy mountains and didn't know how long it would take. Next stop Jindabyne, then Thredbo and down a steep hill (brakes overheated) to get to Tom Groggin campground in Kosciusko national park. I set up camp with th local kangaroos who were very inquisitive, some even keen to show me there babies up close. Went for a walk towards the river, I was feeling uncomfortable about walking through the long grass so I went slow and watched my step but still came close to standing on what looked like a brown snake, only a small one abou 1 metre long. Glad he decide to head off in the opposite direction. After dinner 2 Emus came for a visit and proceeded to chase some of the roos away. Also managed to take my drone for its first spin and got it back in one piece. An interesting day tgats for sure.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 11

    December 14, 2016 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    A little less exciting today. Drove down to Khancoban and had a look around then headed off to find a spot to stay. All of the places i went to were overgrown and not accessible so I ended up at at campsite that hosts the Nariel Creek Folk Festival. It was like entering someone's farm with gates to open and a bunch of farmers here fixing the water supply for the upcoming festival.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 12

    December 15, 2016 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    Headed to Tallangatta to catch up with Ian from ozclubbies. Spent a couple of hours chatting about cars and his work, he repairs clocks and watches mainly the old types. It was fascinating but way too complicated for me. When I left I headed towards Omeo I was struggling a bit all the free spots were overgrown and I was finding it difficult to find anything I wanted to do and starting to wonder if travelling would be what I was looking for. At this time I drove past a house that had a yellow holden one tonner with a black tray just like one dad had many years ago. I turned around to check if it was but it wasn't. It was like a sign to me that I am doing the right thing. I drove on to look for somewhere to stay had a look at Dartmouth dam and mitta mitta and still could not find anywhere nice to stay so i just kept driving I was in the middle of nowhere it was getting late and finally a nice place and what a beautiful spot (lightning creek). I pulled up next to the creek jumped out and looked in the water and there was trout right infront of my camp site. I grabbed my fly rod set it up but spooked the fish as i tried to get to the water. I fished for a while then got the drone out and got some amazing footage. Just what I needed I feel much better now.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 13

    December 16, 2016 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Headed to Omeo for lunch and while I was there decided I was close enough to home to head back and fix all the things on the van that were making it a little difficult to live including the mould that was starting to grow on the ceiling from the leaking roof and the shower after a clip broke and it fell when driving ripping the hinges from the floor and making it impossible to get into the van as it is now taking up all the room on the floor. So a big drive back to Tooradin so I can fix the van, have xmas with the family and do some work at mums before I head off again in Feb.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson
    2

    Day 14 start of the main event

    February 4, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Headed off today after working for a few weeks doing some work on mums place. It hot and very windy and Shona is with me for 2 weeks. We have headed from Melton and will spend the night at Wannon falls. We stopped on the way to visit Chris from ozclubbies in Enfield and chat about cars. The water at Wannon falls is only just running but still nice. It has cooled dowm heps and should be a pleasant night. It is good to be back on the road.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 15

    February 5, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Not much happened today we drove to Mt Gambier and set up at the showgrounds, we are staying here for a couple of nights so we can look around. Not long after we got here it started raining and quite heavily so spent most of the day in the van. We are also sharing the showgrounds tonight with the harness racing, dropped over for a few races.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 16

    February 6, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Spent the day looking around Mt Gambier today, most of the day was looking at the Blue and Valley Lakes and around town. The houses here are quite nice and very cheap.

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 17

    February 7, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    Headed to Carpenters Rocks after spending the morning at Umpherston Sinkhole. Had a great day, got to drive on the beach for the first time and saw some amazing places such as Blackfellows Caves.

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 18

    February 8, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 33 °C

    I could get used to driving on the beach it makes it real easy to go for a swim. Had an eventful day, saw a guy lose his boat off his trailer while recovering his bogged trailer on the beach. Went from here to Port Macdonnell for a drive there is lots to see. Swam with 2 sting rays and stood on a bee, seems I am not getting on well with the insects.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 19

    February 9, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Headed to Beachport to visit Chris and Cynthia from ozclubbies, wonderful people who welcomed us into their home and gave us the tour of the shed and a very nice little Birkin. Then headed to Robe where we decided to stay for a couple of nights. The whole coast has been fantastic with beautiful scenery everywhere. It is amazing that you can still drive on the beach and life seems to be more relaxedRead more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 21

    February 11, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Traveled a short distance today to Kingston SE. Its a small town that is not so touristy. It has a really good free overnight camp spot. We also happened to be here on a big night for the town, they had a jazz in the park night with the Navy band playing and tomorrow they have a big triathlon in town and by the sounds of it the bike leg will Go right next to my caravan.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 22

    February 12, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Mixed day today we traveled towards The Coorong where we going to stay. We took a dirt road that turned into a corrugated stretch that didn't feel too bad in the car but made a real mess of the van, it has damage to the fridge, doors, shower, freezer door and coffee machine, most can be fixed so should be ok. We got to where we were staying and decided we would just keep going to the next nights campsite. We were quite disapointed with the Coorong it is not very exciting to look at and has a terrible smell it is however a very important area for birds. We kept driving to Narrung which turned out to be good we joined a group of grey nomads for happy hour and got to meet some nice people including Val and Kevin, I like their thinking Kevin is in his 60's and is on the road full time, he has his go kart with him and is racing at tracks all Australia .Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 24

    February 14, 2017 in Australia ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

    A long drive today through Murray Bridge, Handorf, Strathalbyn, Goolwa and down to Victor Harbour. I was disappointed with Handorf it is very commercial now and has lost the feel of being quite different, however the other towns were fantastic, the old builings are amazing.Read more

  • Shane HutchinsonMy Gap YearShane Hutchinson

    Day 25

    February 15, 2017 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    Looked around Victor Harbour nice place with lots of old buildings. We decided to wait an hour till the next horse drawn tram was leaving but ended up missing it because I took too long on the loo. We then headed to Brighton Beach Via McLaren Vale where we stopped at Hardy's winery.Read more

  • 2026© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Help Center
  • Legal notice